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A federal jury has awarded a western Pennsylvania woman $185,000 after finding that she was fired from her job as a Burger King restaurant general manager because her son was dying of cancer -- not because she violated a company policy as her employer maintained.

The verdict for plaintiff Theresa Buffington, 40, of Ellwood City, was returned in U.S. District Court in Erie after a seven-day trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice B. Cohill Jr.

The jury ruled Oct. 18 that Buffington's former employer, Erie-based PEC Management II, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act when it fired her from her job in November 2010 based on the belief that her son's terminal illness would interfere with her work performance. It is illegal to fire someone based on stereotypes or assumptions related to their association with a disabled person.

The panel awarded Buffington $70,000 in damages and $115,000 to compensate her for pay she would have received had she kept her job.

She will receive an additional $43,156 in back pay under an agreement between the parties.

PEC Management also must pay Buffington's legal expenses. Her lawyer, David B. Spear, of Pittsburgh, must file a request for fees and costs by Nov. 20.

Spear said Buffington was "thrilled with the verdict" and grateful to the jury.

"It was a complicated case factually and legally," Spear said. The jury, he said, "did a really good job staying with it and giving it their full attention."

PEC Management, which operates 34 Burger King restaurants in Pennsylvania and Ohio, was represented by Erie lawyer Matthew McCullough.

In response to the verdict, McCullough said, "I believe in the jury system, but I cannot disagree more with the outcome in this case. We are examining all options at this time, so it would not be appropriate to comment further now."

Through McCullough, the company issued this statement, "PEC Management strongly believes the jury verdict in this case to be an unfortunate misrepresentation of the company's policy and practice regarding the treatment of our employees and, in particular, our sincere efforts to work with our employees who may face difficult circumstances. We remain committed to providing a work environment free of all types of discrimination, and will vigorously defend our position as we explore all options."

According to court records, Buffington's son, Daniel Honneffer, was first diagnosed in 1999 at age of 2 with muscle and bone cancer. He died in 2011, eight months after her firing.

In 2010, his condition worsened and Buffington, who had worked for PEC Management since 2003, began to take more vacation and sick time to care for him. She said evidence, including e-mails, showed her supervisors believed that due to her son's illness, she would eventually be unable to perform her job as general manager of an Ellwood City Burger King, which at that time was scheduled to undergo a renovation.

She said PEC Management fired her in November 2010, three days after she asked a staff member to run an errand, and he was in a minor car accident for which the company was liable.

The company maintained Buffington violated a vehicle-use policy that said only managers could drive for the company. It said that was the sole reason for Buffington's termination.

Buffington, who had no other history of discipline, maintained others had not been disciplined for violating that policy.

She said when she was fired, her supervisor referenced her son's illness, telling Buffington that the company needed "someone whose head was all there" and that she should "go home and spend time" with her son.

LISA THOMPSON can be reached at 870-1802 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNthompson.